Most of the Earth Is Covered with Water Aquatic life zones Saltwater: marine Oceans and estuaries Coastlands and shorelines Coral reefs Mangrove forests Freshwater Lakes Rivers and streams Inland wetlands http://www.palyvoice.com/node/26392 http://www.biologyreference.com/La-Ma/Lakes-and-Ponds.html#b

Two Major types of Aquatic Zones The world’s salt water and freshwater aquatic system accounts for 71% of the earth’s surface. Scarcity of Water But Not a Drop to Drink But not a Drop to drink demo Saltwater makes up 97.5 % of the water on the planet. Freshwater makes up 2.5% of the water on the planet Of Freshwater: 74% glaciers 26% liquid Of Liquid: 98.4% groundwater,1.4% rivers, streams, and lakes and 0.2% atmosphere

Aquatic Ecosystems Aquatic ecosystems are defined by their salinity, chemistry, geography, depth, flow, light conditions, and water temperature. The two main types of aquatic ecosystems are marine ecosystems and freshwater ecosystems Each ecosystem has its own properties and organisms.

How much water is there? http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthhowmuch.html#.T6xWBehYt8E Credit: Illustration by Jack Cook, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (©); Howard Perlman, USGS. jill Water Planet activity w/ Globe ball activity Slide 4 All of Earth's Water in a Single Sphere This picture shows the size of a sphere that would contain all of Earth's water in comparison to the size of the Earth. The blue sphere sitting on the United States, reaching from about Salt Lake City, Utah to Topeka, Kansas, has a diameter of about 860 miles (about 1,385 kilometers) , with a volume of about 332,500,000 cubic miles (1,386,000,000 cubic kilometers). The sphere includes all the water in the oceans, seas, ice caps, lakes and rivers as well as groundwater, atmospheric water, and even the water in you, your dog, and your tomato plant.

Image: © United States Department of Agriculture. http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/visual/visual.php?shortname=aquatic_biomes Marine and freshwater biomes contain many different types of habitats, from forest bogs to abyssal zones in the deep oceans.

Freshwater Communities ponds and lakes Littoral zone are shallow zones near the shore- aquatic plants live along various predatory insects, amphibians and small fish. Limnetic zone refers to the area farthest away from shore but at the surface- floating algae, zooplankton and fish Profundal zone is a deep-water zone that is below the limits of effective light penetration- bacteria and worm-like organisms eat debris on lakes bottom Items will not require the identification of oceanic zones Slide 6

Dept of Natural Resources – wildlife resources division, Aquatic Education Program Slide 7

Flowing-water ecosystems- Rivers and streams: organisms are adapted to seasonal change in water levels and rate of flow. Many have adaptations that help them avoid being washed downstream. Wetland communities- swamps, marshes, bogs, and other communities- very productive Slide 8

Wetland communities Wetlands Marsh Bogs in Tundra Marsh Pic- http://water.epa.gov/type/wetlands/marsh.cfm Credit: Tom Blagden, Jr. Wetland pic- http://wildlife.state.co.us/LandWater/WetlandsProgram/Pages/WetlandsHome.aspx Bogs http://www.mbgnet.net/fresh/wetlands/index.htm Slide 10

Salinity Seawater contains a variety of dissolved solids Solutes Salinity is measured: Conductivity of Cl- Refractometer slide 11 10

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How Salinity Affects Marine Organisms Most marine animals are adapted to a narrow salinity range Changes is salinity affect organisms through osmosis Hypertonic: water will flow into it across a semipermeable membrane Hypotonic: water will leave the solution Slide 13

Varying salinities determine the distribution and abundance of aquatic organisms around the world Slide 14

How pH Affects Marine Organisms pH is one of the stable measurements in seawater. Ocean water has an excellent buffering system with the interaction of carbon dioxide and water so that it is generally always at a pH of 7.5 to 8.5. Slide 15

Shallow Ocean Water communities- small area but it is inhabited by a large number of species. Fish are sensitive to changes in pH and would experience a decrease in numbers if a shift in the pH of the water occurred. Intertidal- adapted to change in temperature, salinity and exposure to air during the tidal changes. Adapted to cling to rocks Coral reef community- most diverse occurs in shallow tropic waters Coastal zones of cooler waters – the world’s greatest fisheries Slide 16 The pH of the water in several lakes in Norway and Sweden had decreased to below 5.0 due to an increase in acid rain. Which of the following is most likely to happen in these lakes? A. the decline of several fish populations. B. an increase in numbers of fish C. an increase in the amount of primary producers D. increased predator-prey relationships E. I don’t know

Discuss adaptations of organisms living in each of the ecosystems

Estuaries and Coastal Wetlands Are Highly Productive Important ecological and economic services Coastal aquatic systems maintain water quality by filtering Toxic pollutants Excess plant nutrients Sediments Absorb other pollutants Provide food, timber, fuelwood, and habitats Reduce storm damage and coast erosion Slide 18

Coastal Zone The coastal zone makes up less than 10% of the world’s ocean but contains 90% of all marine species. Warm, nutrient rich, shallow water Extends from high tide mark to edge of the continental shelf High productivity because of ample sunlight and plant nutrients flowing from the land Slide 19

Coastal Ecosystems Estuaries- where the river meets the sea. Temperature and salinity levels vary greatly daily rhythms of the tides seasonal variations in the flow of freshwater Coastal wetlands lands covered with water all or part of the year River mouths, inlets, bays, sounds, mangroves and saltwater marshes Mangrove Swamps trees that can tolerate salt Extensive roots that stabilize the substrate Provides a nursery grounds for many invertebrates and fish Slide 20

Reefs, and Mangroves 20 Coral reefs Mangroves Slide - 21 Ask what do you notice about the Reefs (red) location. Narrow rage of tolerance for Water temp. – need shallow clear waters Mangroves? located in Tropical and Sub tropical areas Coral reefs Mangroves Reefs, and Mangroves 20 20

Communities at the surface of the Open Sea Diverse community of plankton (bacteria, algae, fish larvae, and small invertebrates) Phytoplankton are primary producers that rely on the sun to carry out photosynthesis. Zooplankton are a major source of food for small and large marine organisms Slide 22 As increasing amount of carbon dioxide is sent into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels, the ocean absorbs more and more of the excess carbon. Some of the carbon reacts chemically in seawater to form an acid. The more carbon the ocean takes in, the more acidic the water becomes. If the water becomes too acidic, tiny organisms that make up plankton may not be able to make protective shells. One of the areas that would be greatly affected is the Antarctic. What effect, if any, might this harm to plankton have on Antarctic marine food web? It would have no effect, because the organisms in plankton include algae, which do not have shells. It would be beneficial, because consumers in the third trophic level could more easily eat zooplankton that does not have protective shells. Damage to the Antarctic ecosystem would be extensive but could be repaired as new plankton drifts south to replace the plankton that died off. The dying off of these tiny organisms would be disastrous, because zooplankton is a major source of food for small and large marine organisms. I don’t know

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The Great Plankton Race! The Secret Life of Plankton

Goes with activity….. Diatom

Open Ocean Water beyond the continental shelf Light zones: Euphotic, Disphotic, Aphotic Depth Zones: epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, abyssolpelagic, hadalpelagic Average primary productivity and NPP per unit of area are quite low except at an upwelling Upwelling- where currents bring nutrients from the bottom to the surface where there is light Slide 1

© 2004 Brooks/Cole – Thomson Learning High tide Pelagic Division Depth in meters Sun Low tide Coastal Zone Open Ocean Zone Sea level 50 Epipelagic Zone Euphotic Estuarine Zone 100 Continental shelf 200 500 Bathyal Zone Disphotic 1,000 1,500 Benthic Division 2,000 Abyssal Zone 3,000 4,000 Aphotic 5,000 10,000 © 2004 Brooks/Cole – Thomson Learning Ocean Zones

Three layers of aquatic life zones Euphotic zone-photosynthesis occurs Dissolved oxygen high in the surface layer CO2 levels are low Disphotic zone- some light but not enough for photosynthesis “twilight zone” Aphotic Zone- No light Lower levels of oxygen No photosynthesis CO2 levels are high due to anaerobic respiration. Why are there so few aquatic plants and phytoplankton that live at the bottom zones in the ocean? A. The ocean floor contains many decomposers. B. Most sunlight is absorbed before reaching these levels. C. Water is a limiting factor. D. The temperature in these zones is extremely low. E. I don’t know

Light Absorption in the Ocean Slide 4 28

Communities at the ocean depths Total darkness, cold and under great amounts of pressure. Diverse community of invertebrates and fishes. Hydrothermal Vents- community that relies on bacteria that chemosynthesis Some rely on Bioluminescence Slide 5 Depths of Discovery – hydrothermal vents web quest http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/extreme2003/home.html

What kinds of organisms live in Aquatic Zones? Plankton- drifters/floaters can not swim against a current include Phytoplankton, zooplankton to large jellyfish. Nekton- swimmers include fish, turtles, and whales Benthos- live in/on the bottom includes most invertebrates Decomposers-break down the organic compounds in the dead bodies and wastes of aquatic organisms into simple nutrients compounds for use by producers includes bacteria and Fungi. Slide 6 30

Key factors in the distribution of organisms Temperature Dissolved oxygen content Availability of food Availability of light and nutrients needed for photosynthesis in the euphotic, or photic, zone Slide 7 31

How do these guys differ? Temperature At lower latitudes there is a capture of heat and at higher latitudes there is a loss of heat This creates a temperature gradient for surface waters Surface waters will fluctuate wildly at the mid-latitudes and almost remain constant at the poles and equator Slide 8 How do these guys differ? 32

Ocean surface temperature strongly correlates with latitude. Isotherms (lines of equal temperature) generally trend east-west except where deflected by currents. Ocean currents carry warm water poleward on the western side of ocean basins and cooler water equatorward on the eastern side of the ocean. Insolation and ocean-surface water temperature vary with the season. Ocean temperature is highest in the tropics (25oC) and decreases poleward. Slide 9 Insolation = amount of light striking Earth

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Dissolved Oxygen (DO) Content Amount of oxygen gas dissolved in a given volume of water at a particular temperature and pressure. Limiting factor of aquatic ecosystem Slide 12

Dissolved inorganic carbon in the oceans is 50 – 60 x greater than in the atmosphere A small change in the ocean carbon cycle can result in a substantial change in the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere Solubility of CO2 increases with decreasing temperature  solubility pump transfers CO2 to the deep sea during formation of cold deep water at high latitudes. (Link to physical process part of circulation) At the same time, the biological pump removes carbon from surface waters by settling of organic and inorganic carbon derived from biological production in the deep sea (link to biological process) Slide 13